The present invention relates to eyeglass frames and, more particularly, to eyeglass frames using a super elastic alloy material in the structure of the frame, as well as a method for making the eyeglass frames.
Generally, an eyeglass frame includes a pair of lens holders in which a user's prescription ground plastic or glass lenses are mounted. A bridge joins the lens holders in a fixed relation with each other. Temple elements engage temple arms of the eyeglass frame when the eyeglass frame is open. With the user's ears to support the lenses in front of the eyes, the temple arms generally are pivoted to the lens frames to allow the pivoting of the temple arms to a closed position against the lens frames when the user removes the eyeglasses and stores them in a pocket, purse or other place. Another bridge piece defining a support receivable on the user's nose also may be included.
It is desirable that eyeglass frames have a certain elastic quality. It is known to employ a super elastic alloy material for certain of the eyeglass frame components, particularly for bridge pieces and temple arms. Commonly, the lens frames and attachment members by which the temple arms are connected to the lens holders are non-super elastic alloy materials.
This dissimilarity of materials makes it impossible to directly solder super elastic bridge pieces to non-super elastic lens fames. The super elastic temple arms similarly cannot be soldered to non-super elastic attachment members. To enable joining the super elastic parts to the non-super elastic parts, end portions of bridge pieces are fitted into tubular members of, for example, nickel alloy. The tubular members are then deformed or crimped to hold the super elastic alloy bridge piece end portions. The crimped tube parts are then soldered to the non-elastic lens frames. The same practice is followed for securing super elastic alloy material temple arms to nonelastic attachment members.
Such soldering usually is accomplished by the use of soft solder. The connection does not require melting of the parent metal of the joined components.
However, the use of tubular members to join super-elastic alloy bridge piece end portions to non-super elastic parts substantially increases the cost of producing prior art eyeglass frames. Prior art tubular members impart non-affinity to the prior eyeglass frames. Additionally, the inability to directly solder super-elastic alloy components to non-super elastic alloy components yields less useful eyeglass frames which are unable to withstand great force and are liable to break easily upon slight impact.
The present invention aims at overcoming the aforementioned drawbacks of prior art eyeglass frames.